Rebuilding The Renaissance

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Episode 161 - Venice: Giorgione's "Tempest" and "La Vecchia" Feb 16, 2022

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Notwithstanding that his life and artistic career were cut short by plague in 1510 while the artist was in his thirties, Giorgione revolutionized European painting by his introduction of enigmatic and unconventional iconography. This episode examines two of Giorgione's most important paintings, both of which are located in the Accademia Gallery in Venice.

Episode 160 - Venice - Vittore Carpaccio's "The Legend of St. Ursula" Feb 09, 2022

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Carpaccio's extraordinary visual narrative of the life of St. Ursula is one of the most celebrated examples of cyclical Venetian Renaissance painting. Recently restored, the nine large canvases are now on display in the Accademia Gallery of Venice and present a vivid snapshot of life in Venice at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. This podcast will examine the entirety of the cycle and analyze the artistic style of one of the major artistic protagonists of the Venetian Renaissance.

Episode 159 - Venice: Gentile Bellini, Vittorio Carpaccio and the Relic of the True Cross Feb 02, 2022

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At the end of the 15th century, large-scale-cyclical-narrative paintings became quite popular in Renaissance Venice. One of these cycles illustrates in spectacular fashion the legends of the relic of the True Cross that was owned by the Scuola Grande of St. John the Evangelist. This episode examines the three most important paintings of this cycle, which were executed by two of Venice's most important painters.

Episode 158 - Venice: Giovanni Bellini's "St. Job Altarpiece" Jan 26, 2022

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This episode examines the first great Venetian painting of the Renaissance. Although the Venetian school of painting appeared almost a full century after that of Florence, the extraordinary genius of Venetian painters such as Giovanni Bellini rapidly made it the major rival of central Italian Renaissance painting.

Episode 157 - Answers to Open Questions XI Jan 19, 2022

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From Botticelli and the Bonfires of the Vanities, to the extraordinary collection of artists' portraits and self-portraits in the Uffizi Gallleries, to the use of AI in art authentication, to Botticelli's $92M "Portrait of a Young Man with a Medal," to the Virgin Mary's thoughts in Michelangelo's Pietà, this episode answers the very questions that you ask me about the great art, artists and history of the Italian Renaissance.

Episode 156 - The Divine Michelangelo Part VIII - The Doni Tondo Jan 12, 2022

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This episode examines the only painting by Michelangelo in Florence, and one of only two finished paintings executed by the artist before he decorated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In many ways the vibrant, expressive colors and sculptural plasticity of the figures in this painting anticipated the revolutionary style of the Sistine ceiling a few years later.

Episode 155 - Leonardo vs. Michelangelo- The Battle of the Battles - Part II Jan 05, 2022

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In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great hall of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. This second part of a 2-part podcast will explore what we know about the great murals planned by both artists and that portion that was actually executed by Leonardo da Vinci. Finally, we shall discuss the search for the lost Leonardo that still continues today.

Episode 154 - Leonardo vs. Michelangelo- The Battle of the Battles - Part I Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

In 1504, Florence found its two greatest artists in the city at the same time. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to have them test their talents against each other, massive murals were commissioned from each in the great hall of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. This first of a two-part series will examine the historical context of the commission and the subject matter of the paintings.

Episode 153 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa Dec 22, 2021

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When Leonardo began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, in 1503, little did he know just how much employment he would generate for future art historians. From theories concerning her enigmatic smile, to the painting being a self-portrait of Leonardo in drag, to her possibly being pregnant, just about everything that could possibly have been written about the Mona Lisa seems to have been written about her. In addition to analyzing the formal aspects of the painting, this episode also examines just why the painting is so famous.

Episode 152 - The Divine Michelangelo Part VII - The David (Part III) Dec 15, 2021

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This episode is the third and final part of a three-part podcast on the world's most celebrated statue. From the lack of Goliath's head, to the sling and hard-to-see stone in David's hands, to the expressive body language of the statue, this podcast will examine the unique iconography and local civic value of The David.

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